Ferrari at the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Ferrari proudly showed not one, but two UK debuts at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The mid-rear engined two-seater 458 Spider features a fully retractable aluminium hard-top roof, a world first for a sports car with this layout. The innovative folding hard-top is 25kg lighter than a traditional soft-top while being both quieter and more thermally efficient.

Also making its debut was the new lighter and more powerful Ferrari California 30. The front-mid mounted V8 now has 490hp, an addition of 30hp, with overall weight also being reduced by 30kg, which has been achieved through cutting-edge aluminium fabrication techniques and construction technologies.

Alongside these two UK debuts was the Ferrari FF, the V12-powered four-seater flagship of the Ferrari range. This is Ferrari’s first vehicle to feature the innovative 4RM four-wheel drive system which allows up to 30% of the V12’s 660hp engine to be transferred to the front axle in low grip situations.

All three cars will take to the track again tomorrow where Scuderia Ferrari driver, Marc Gené, will also put the 2009 Ferrari F60 single-seater through its paces up the famous 1.16 mile hillclimb course.

There are also several fine examples of classic Ferraris from the 1950s, 60s and 70s on display at the Festival of Speed, including a very rare 250 MM from 1953, the ex-Carrera Panamerica car still running in its original livery. The 2009 Ferrari F60 single-seater, driven by Scuderia Ferrari driver, Marc Gené, wowed the crowds today at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

“The track is extremely narrow, so it feels quite fast even though we are only doing 250 kph [156 mph], but you have a lot of downforce so you feel quiet safe. We have brought the car here because it won in 2009 and we like to bring F1 to the fans here in England. The Festival of Speed is one of the biggest – if not the biggest – events in the world,” Marc commented.

There are also several fine classic Ferraris on display at the Festival of Speed, including Nick Mason’s very rare 250 MM from 1953, the ex-Carrera Panamerica car, which is still running in its original livery and was recently added to his extensive collection to fulfil his desire to own a drum-braked Ferrari. Nick also campaigned his classic 250 GTO, a regular at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival, which bears the appropriate numberplate ‘250 GTO’ and which he has owned for over 40 years.

During the “Michelin Supercar Run”, the brand new mid-rear engined two-seater 458 Spider and front-mid engined V8 Ferrari California 30 made their UK debut, joined by the flagship V12-engined four-wheel drive Ferrari FF. Ferrari proudly showed two UK debuts at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, the all-new Ferrari 458 Spider, with its innovative folding aluminium hard-top, and the new lighter and more powerful Ferrari California 30. Joining them was the flagship V12-powered four-wheel drive Ferrari FF with all cars setting a blistering pace on the famous 1.16 mile hillclimb route.

Also taking to the track was the 2009 F60 single-seater driven by Scuderia Ferrari driver Marc Gené. He commented, “The track is extremely narrow, so it feels quite fast even though we are only doing 250 kph [156 mph]. We have brought the car here because it won in 2009 and we like to bring F1 to the fans here in England. The Festival of Speed is one of the biggest – if not the biggest – events in the world.”

There are also several fine classic Ferraris on display at the Festival of Speed, including Nick Mason’s very rare 250 MM from 1953, the ex-Carrera Panamerica car, which is still running in its original livery and was recently added to his extensive collection to fulfil his desire to own a drum-braked Ferrari. Nick also campaigned his classic 250 GTO, a regular at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival, which he has owned for over 40 years.

The ‘Michelin Supercar Run’ was led up the hill by Chris Evans’ ‘Magnificent Seven’, which comprises of seven of the most important, iconic and beautiful Ferraris ever made: 250 SWB, 275 GTB4, 365 GTB4, 288 GTO, F40, 550 Barchetta and SA Aperta. Chris commented, “I only know about Ferraris. I’m quite busy and I’ve always been busy. There’s only a certain amount of time in life to learn about things and I thought I’d know a bit more about Ferraris.”

Videos of Marc Gené driving the 2009 F60 Scuderia Ferrari F1 car and the Ferrari 458 Spider can be viewed on www.ferrari.com and are available for media use from the Ferrari media website.

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